Greetings! Welcome to Community Psychology! accelerated online semester Fall 2015 Sept. 1 Nov. 7, 2015

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1 1 Greetings! Welcome to Community Psychology! accelerated online semester Fall 2015 Sept. 1 Nov. 7, 2015 Instructor: Erika Sanborne Please use UMass Online's Blackboard Learn Mail within the course. Use outside , only if you cannot access this course for some reason: Erika_Sanborne@uml.edu Online Chats: Wednesdays: Sec 061 chat is 8-9 PM Eastern Time; Sec 062 is 9-10 PM Postal Mail: Erika Sanborne Department of Psychology UMass Lowell 113 Wilder St., Suite 300 Lowell, MA ABOUT THE COURSE Course Description Completion of this course is worth 3 credits. Surveys the nature and practice of community psychology, including principles of community organization and change as seen in such areas as education, mental health, the workplace, health care, justice system, corrections and social services. Students may participate in field research or projects in the community, and classroom work will include discussion of the field experiences of the participants. Required Textbook Kloos, B., Hill, J. Thomas, E. Wandersman, A., & Dalton, J. (2012). Community psychology: Linking individuals and communities (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. Several smaller, supplemental sources are available either within the course or through online library resources. These are specified within lectures. You only need to acquire the textbook on your own. Course Objectives At the completion of this course, students should be able to do the following: To define and recognize in a community setting the key principles of community psychology, specifically these seven: concern for individual and family wellness, sense of community, respect for human diversity, social justice, empowerment and citizen participation, collaboration and community strengths, and empirical grounding. This objective is reached through the Community Meeting Paper. To examine the role of a community leader and categorize observations according to key principles of community psychology. This objective is reached through the Community Meeting Paper. To compose illustrations of how to apply community psychology principles to community concerns. This objective is reached through weekly graded posts. To assess sense of community in a community; to illustrate the four elements of sense of community in that setting. This objective is reached through the Investigation Paper. To conclude from your experience over the semester the extent to which you really can make a difference in the world. This objective is reached through weekly graded posts.

2 2 Ged Ed & Core Curriculum Info For all Continuing Education students, and for day students who matriculated to the University prior to Fall, 2015 and are completing their degree under the old Gen. Ed. guidelines, this course is a General Education course that meets the requirements for Social Science (SS) for non-psychology majors and for Diversity (D) for all students, and it meets these specific Gen Ed standards in the following ways: Learning outcome #2: The CRITICAL THINKING standard requires students to demonstrate the ability to synthesize information, discover connections, differentiate between facts and opinions, assess evidence, draw conclusions, construct arguments on both sides of a debate using the best available evidence, solve problems, develop and test hypotheses. Learning outcome #3: The CLEAR COMMUNICATION standard requires students to demonstrate the ability to communicate effectively: to articulate, support, and defend a position using appropriate modes of communication. Learning outcome #4: The DIVERSITY standard requires that students must demonstrate the ability to understand diverse groups of peoples, cultures, and views. Diversity is defined broadly to include culture (i.e., national origin, language, ethnicity, and religion), race, gender, social class, age, sexual orientation, and disability. For day students whose first semester at UMass Lowell occurs on or after Fall, 2015, you have been admitted under the new Core Curriculum. Those of you who are not Psychology majors can count this course under Breadth of Knowledge as a Social Science elective. For those of you who are Psychology majors, this course will satisfy the Essential Leaning Outcome of Diversity and Cultural Awareness by enabling you to be better able to: Identify and analyze one s own cultural norms and values in relation to those of other cultures and diverse social groups. Identify and analyze indicators of discrimination and demonstration of how discriminatory practices and attitudes can create barriers for some and opportunities for others. Articulate answers to complex questions about other cultures and diverse groups, reflecting an awareness of diverse cultural and social group perspectives. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Graded Posts This is the work of every week. Graded posts are due Sunday night by 9:00 PM Eastern Time. Students will compose a thoughtful response to the week s assignment, with appropriate reference to lecture content, assigned textbook reading, and the supplemental sources provided or linked to within the week s lecture (i.e. online news stories, journal articles, and videos). The substance of a graded post is based on the student s personal experience in the world, and involves relating and connecting one s observations to the concepts being studied in the course. Graded posts for the course comprise 30% of the final course grade. Find additional details in the Start Here module.

3 3 Community Meeting Paper This is the first of two papers due in the course. It is a major course assignment, due at the end of Week 5 (10/4/15). For this assignment students need to attend a public community meeting i.e., City Council, School Committee, City or Town Board or Commission Meeting, neighborhood organization, homeowner s association, any city or town planning committee, community coalition or organized grassroots organization. Students can find ideas on choosing a meeting, and a clarifying list of what s not allowed in the Start Here module. The meeting is the student s choice, but I do need to approve that choice. My decision to approve is based solely on my confidence that such a meeting will provide a rich enough experience from which the student can complete this assignment. Find something you like, as the parameters are wide. You also need to talk with someone in a position of leadership within that group. So choose a meeting for which you feel comfortable asking someone in leadership for a conversation with you. The purpose of this paper is not an assessment of the meeting, but for you to discover how a community accomplishes its goals, using the lens of community psychology. The Community Meeting Paper is worth 25% of the final course grade. See sample paper, assignment guidelines, and grading rubric in the Start Here module for more. Investigation Paper This is the second paper due in the course. It is a major course assignment, due at the end of Week 8 (10/25/15). For this assignment, choose a community that interests you! And choose a community that you are a part of. This can be a locality your neighborhood, your street, your condominium community, your town, etc. This can also be a relational community your fraternity, your faith community, the local business community, the local American Indian community, the deaf community, a social club you spend a lot of time with, the local arts community, the LGBT community, your work community, etc. After introducing the reader to your community, most of your paper will be about the elements of sense of community as you see them, following the McMillan-Chavis model for sense of community. The Investigation Paper is worth 25% of the final course grade. See sample paper, assignment guidelines, and grading rubric in the Start Here module for more. Final Exam As required by the university, this course concludes with a final exam. Questions are multiple-choice, and will assess the student s ability to connect core concepts from the field of community psychology with examples and illustrations of provided scenarios. The final exam is worth 20% of the final course grade. See sample questions which model the difficulty level and format in the Start Here module. Course grades are computed as follows without further rounding: = A (4.0) = A- (3.7) = B+ (3.3) = B (3.0) = B- (2.7) = C+ (2.3) = C (2.0) = C- (1.7) = D+ (1.3) = D (1.0) Less than 63.0 = F (0.0)

4 TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE What is expected of you? You will see that this course has a lot of freedom for you to choose topics consistent with your own experience, professional interests, and learning goals. Community psychology affords you a framework, a way of looking at things, and you can demonstrate your learning of relevant concepts by linking what you observe with what we learn in the course. In general, to succeed in this course, you should expect to devote around six hours per week beyond the in class time of reading and viewing lecture content, on average, in order to keep up with coursework. It is expected that you will complete your own work with integrity and on time, and that your communication with one another and the instructor will be mutually respectful. It is expected that you will ask clarifying questions if you are unsure of any aspect of an assignment. You can me at any time, but I ask that you post your questions to the discussion boards unless your question is private or personal in nature. If you me a general course question I may ask you to post it on the Questions discussion board for my reply, so that others can receive my response to the question. I will communicate any personal inquiries or feedback to you via , and will frequently send all-class bulletins too. Check your often! Students interactions should be consistent with the university s academic policies and regulations as published here: If a student feels that s/he has been unfairly treated, a student s rights are described here: If you have any learning needs that I can accommodate, you need to first contact the Office of Disability Services. Together you and they will let me know how I can be most helpful to your learning. What can you expect of the instructor? Each week s lecture will be available no later than 9:00 AM Eastern Time each Monday morning. I am available to help you understand course materials and expectations, and I believe that we are in this together for our shared time in this course. I respect the time you put into your coursework by giving you my time in return. For papers in this course, I won t just give you a grade. I will be in touch with you privately, by , to give details on strengths and weaknesses in your work. That is also an invitation for further conversation if anything remains unclear. I don t believe that you can ask me too many questions I am here for you. Ask away. The course is conveniently available to you 24 hours a day. Unfortunately, I am not. I m fairly quick with responding to you within 24 hours, but you should not expect last minute help. For example, a frantic earlier in the day when a major course assignment is due is not going to be fruitful. A lack of planning on your part does not make for an emergency on my part. I will help you a great deal. You just need to seek help when you need it, and not at the last minute. There is also weekly chat. Chat participation is encouraged but not required. I am present for all chat sessions. You bring an agenda i.e., your questions, reactions, and comments as related to our coursework. Think of it like coming to office hours, potentially with other students. If you don t come with an agenda there will be the online equivalent of awkward silence. When several students show up with questions and ideas, it's productive! Do as you will, but it s another resource available to you.

5 POLICIES Academic Integrity The integrity of the academic enterprise of any institution of higher education requires honesty in all aspects of its endeavor. Maintaining academic integrity is therefore the responsibility of all faculty, staff, and students at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Academic dishonesty is prohibited in all programs of the University. Sanctions may be imposed on any student who has committed an act of academic dishonesty You need to be familiar with the University's policies on academic integrity, and you need to understand that I endeavor to fervently monitor for academic dishonesty. You can find the university s Academic Integrity Policy here: Late Work and Missed Assignments All assignments are due by 9:00 PM Eastern Time. Work is time-stamped. After the clock tower tolls at 9:00 PM EST a submitted assignment is late and graded accordingly. Late work is reduced in grade as noted below. After one week, any work you have not submitted is considered missed and graded accordingly. Late Weekly Graded Posts When posting on the graded discussion boards, you will note the time stamp and anything posted after 9:00 PM is late. For example, a graded post time-stamped at 9:01 PM is late. You may also find that the discussion board may be locked. Even if it is not locked, late is late. To submit late work to me after a discussion board is locked, please use a specific subject line in your for late work to ensure due credit is given, for example: Subj: Week 2 Graded Post late for half credit Weekly Graded Posts can be submitted up to one week late for half credit. These posts are smaller, weekly assignments and if not submitted within the one-week late period they are missed and graded as a 0 for that week. There is no little bit late consideration for something you have a full week to submit. Work not submitted on time is late. Late Papers Submitting either of the two major papers late results in a reduction of one full letter grade per 2 days late. This leaves up to one week late to submit your paper for this reduced grade. These are major course assignments and submitting late work of any quality will substantially impact your grade. Please do not be late with your work. FYI, explanations of why one s work is late does not excuse one s work from being graded as late, and do not lead to its acceptance as if it were on time. The deadlines and guidelines are available to you from the first minute of the semester. Avoid waiting until the last minute to do your work so that you can avoid submitting your work late. If either of these papers is not submitted within the late period of one week, a grade of 50 will be entered for that missed major paper. Final Exam Not submitting your final exam by end of semester, which is 9:00 PM Eastern Time on November 7, 2015, is equivalent to having not been present to take a final exam. The resulting grade entered for your missed final exam will be 50.

6 COURSE CALENDAR Week # Dates Textbook reading Major Assignments Due 1 9/1-9/6 Ch.1 2 9/7-9/13 Ch /14-9/20 Ch /21-9/27 Ch /28-10/4 Ch. 6 Community Meeting Paper (due 10/4) 6 10/5-10/11 Ch /12-10/18 Ch /19-10/25 Ch. 8 Investigation Paper (due 10/25) 9 10/26-11/1 Ch /2-11/7 Ch. 13 Final Exam (due 11/7) GETTING STARTED ON DAY 1 I know semester startup time can be hectic. I am writing this part to help you ease in right on track. First off, congrats for reading through the syllabus! Now here are the rest of my startup tips. Get the textbook immediately. You will need it every week, including Week 1. Read chapter 1 a few times. It s not often the case in an undergraduate course that the first chapter is as useful as this one is. Your textbook has a chapter 1 that is almost a mini textbook nearly every single thing we get into throughout the semester is introduced in chapter 1. It s a secret resource, more than just a mere chapter among many, and I suggest giving it some time for careful reading. Right away, read the assignment guidelines for the Community Meeting Paper. You need to find a meeting that you want to attend, so you can propose it and hopefully get it approved. I urge you to do this immediately because many organizations meet monthly. This paper is due at the end of week 5, and you don t really need to worry about what goes into that right now, but you do need to start looking around. If you find something right away, you can probably attend whatever you d like, because the paper will be due in five weeks. The longer you wait, the fewer options you are leaving for yourself. Look at the community psychology facebook page for examples of some community meetings that previous students have attended ( Introduce yourself on the Introductions board, and get to know one another a bit. I truly look forward to our time together, and I thank you for your careful reading of this syllabus.